Statement from Milagro Sala’s defence team

Yesterday, in the context of a growing context of judicial political harassment, Milagro Sala was admitted to the Los Lapachos Clinic with a case of thrombosis. This happened after Sala went for routine tests due to pain in her left leg.

At 4:00 p.m., Sala was transferred to the Coronary Therapy unit to be compensated and receive the necessary treatment for the thrombosis. Since then, she has been in intensive care with a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in her left lower limb. After the medical intervention, Milagro is currently stable and without respiratory complications.

Even so, her condition is not free of complications and today morning tests will be carried out to determine the treatment to be given, which may consist either of surgery or anticoagulation while awaiting her progress. Because of the danger of a blood clot detachment leading to pulmonary tamponade, Sala must remain in hospital without any movement. In the best case, scenario, the resolution of her medical situation will take three to five months and she will have to remain anticoagulated for eight to eighteen months.

This serious medical situation is surrounded by the harassment that characterises the judicial and executive powers in Jujuy. From the moment of her hospitalisation, the local police sent officers who remained, at all times, at Sala’s side and prevented her from having any kind of privacy with her family and medical staff. To make matters worse, the police officers constantly report, by telephone, (we assume their superiors or the media) about Milagro’s state of health, and ask questions of both the clinic staff and those close to Sala. The police officers did not limit themselves to waiting at the therapy doors, but entered and remain in the place, next to the bed where the social leader is lying.

Specifically, until last night, an officer was at the bedside of the social leader, writing down everything she heard and saw, taking photos and filming, and communicating by telephone about Sala’s state of health and who she is talking to.

It should be recalled that in recent weeks, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has publicly expressed its intention to return Milagro Sala to prison, regardless of the provisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and has made several presentations in this regard.

As is public knowledge, Milagro Sala has been in pre-trial detention for almost seven years, which is three times the maximum legally established. Meanwhile, the judiciary in Jujuy continues to pursue cases against her and her family, without any basis whatsoever. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, for its part, has had the main case against Sala pending for more than two years.

Report from Milagro Sala’s health care team

Today, as the Health Team, we made contact for the second time with Mrs. Milagro Sala, who is hospitalised in the Coronary Unit/Intensive Care Unit of the Los Lapachos Clinic, San Salvador de Jujuy.

She is being guarded by two police officers, a woman and a man, at the entrance door to the UCO/UTI and a third female officer, at her bedside, ostensibly carrying her regulation weapon.

Although she is currently clinically stable, she is not exempt from further complications that may arise at any time as a result of her underlying pathological condition.
It is worth noting that the presence of the police at her bedside undoubtedly constitutes a threatening situation of psychological and symbolic violence, of harassment that clearly and directly impacts on her mental health, generating anguish and anxiety with repercussions on her clinical condition, making the prognosis of her illness more ominous than it could be.

The presence of the police inside the room also disturbs the health of the rest of the patients, who are no strangers to this situation as it is an open room, affecting the rights of the patient Milagro Sala and the rest of the patients “Law on the rights of the patient in their relationship with health professionals and institutions” (law 26.529, chapter 1, article 2, paragraph c and d).

Salvador de Jujuy 28/06/2022

Adriana Sonia Taboada – Licensed Psychologist – MN 8336
Dr. Ariel Rossi – Doctor in Medicine – Specialist in Forensic Medicine MN 90.414